Peretz R. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Peretz R., who was born in Holíč, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy(presently Slovakia) in 1916, one of three brothers. He recalls his father's Jewish and secular leadership roles; attending school in Bratislava, then Skalica; joining Maccabi; attending medical school in 1934; leaving in 1938 due to antisemitism; attending Gordonyah training in Bánovce; marriage in 1940; continuing his youth movement work in Bratislava; one-month incarceration in a work camp in Humenné; arrest and escape; his parents going into hiding; he and his wife traveling illegally to Budapest; conflicts among the Zionist movements; working with Joel Brand; obtaining false papers; arrest; Brand arranging his release; working with a committee to rescue Jews; contacts with Rudolf Kasztner; producing false documents for a large number of Jews and non-Jews; visiting Bratislava for a meeting with Gisi Fleischman; seeing his parents and brothers; German occupation in March 1944; he and his wife continuing to work with Brand, Kasztner and others, including Kurt Becher, a German officer, to hide Jews and establish children's home; he and his wife declining a space on the Kasztner train so they could continue their work; visiting Bratislava again; assistance from the head of the Swedish Red Cross; arrival of his parents and one brother; liberation by Soviet troops; operating many children's homes with Red Cross and Joint assistance; bringing a group of children to Pécs; meetings with the Joint in Bucharest; the birth of two children; attending Zionist conferences in Karlovy Vary, Holland, and Paris; emigration of his parents, brothers, and their families to Israel in 1949; and joining them with his family. Mr. R. discusses many episodes and people with whom he worked during the war; his role in the Kasztner trial; his career as a social worker; and his family.

22 videocassettes